Ask Valerie's advice

The hour is very late... but Valerie has always insisted that you may call upon her at any time, regardless of how long since the Sun has set. And so, with only slight hesitation, you open the speaking-tube that leads to her room, just adjacent to your own, and gently strike the chime next to it.

"Mmm... Yes, Xavier?" she responds, almost at once - though you can just tell that she had been sleeping.

"Valerie, I am sorry to disturb you," you say, "but I find I need to speak with you about something that will not let me rest until the morning."

"I will be at your side momentarily, my love," comes the thin reply through the tube, and you can hear the rustling of her sheets and blankets as she rises.

You get up from your own bed, put a thin stick into the glowing embers of the fire in the hearth, and use it to light the oil lamp at your bedside table. You do not wait long before Valerie emerges from the hidden door behind your bed which leads to her chambers. The door is made to blend into the wall, but of course it is not truly kept secret; the entire castle staff knows it is there. It is thought that when this bedchamber was used by the abbot of the ancient order of monks who built the castle, he likely kept his own mistress within, and did not wish the other monks to know of her. The erotic imagery carved into the walls of Valerie's bedchamber make it clear that it was a room with a definite purpose!

"Tell me of your troubles," Valerie says, reclining onto your bed and sliding over to make room for you.

"I'm sure you know about what happened earlier today," you say.

"The unfortunate incident at the bathing pools? Yes, of course. I'm afraid the entire castle knows about it, my love, but it seems to me that you handled it very well. Does it still weigh on your mind?"

"Not exactly," you tell her, laying down beside her with your head and shoulders propped upon large pillows. "You know how Arethousa helped me to resolve the situation... I felt indebted to her for that, and so agreed to meet with her a few hours ago, in her apartments above the pools."

"I see," Valerie says, nodding and smiling slightly.

It's clear that Valerie already knows at least part of what happened! "Yes, we made love together," you tell her anyway. "But that is not all. Arethousa told me that she wishes very much to become my Queen. She made no demands of me, other than asking me to sincerely consider such an arrangement. And, even aside from her obvious assets, I must say she made a very compelling case!"

"I think you could do a great deal worse, when it comes to choosing your Queen," Valerie says.

"You know Arethousa personally, of course," you say to Valerie. "May I ask how well?"

"At least as well as you know her, as of tonight," Valerie says with a mischievous grin. "Let's just say that I recognized her scent upon you as soon as I entered the room."

The thought of Valerie and Arethousa kissing and touching each other inspires an involuntary reaction in your manhood, and you must slightly shift your legs to allow it room to grow! "As compelling as that may be, dear Valerie, I am at this time wondering how you well you know her mind and heart, not her body."

"Arethousa and I first met before either of us came to Elyssia," Valerie says. "It was several years after the passing of my mother, and while the King in France had kept both her and myself as part of the household as a courtesy to his departed father, he had made it clear that he would not allow us rooms indefinitely. And so, I traveled, seeking a new place to call home and perhaps a new Lord to call master; though I swore that I would accept none but the best," she adds, stroking your chest with a delicate hand. "It was in Rome that I encountered Arethousa, while I was marveling at the ancient temples; she and several of her companions were conducting a secret ritual in the ruins of a temple dedicated to Venus, the Roman goddess of love. They were alarmed at first - if they had been discovered by the Holy Church in Rome, they would surely have faced the inquisitors. But I was able to assure them that I meant them no harm, and they soon saw me as something of a kindred spirit, for I have in my own way dedicated my life to the arts of love.

"Arethousa was younger then, in the midst of blossoming into full womanhood; but no less exquisitely beautiful than she is today. We got along extraordinarily well, and when we parted she asked that I write to her and tell me of my travels, just as she would for me. Our letters were channeled through the small, hidden groups of those who continue to worship the gods of old. As long as we each left word with the temples we visited as to where we would be going next, the letters could always find us.

"Eventually, I received word that some of Arethousa's people had been discovered, and it would not be long before they all would be **** to scatter, lest they face the tortures of those accused of heresy. She said that she would be taking what wealth they had left, and the last few of her companions, and that she would try to find the castle in the mountains of which we had both heard tales. It would be seven years before I heard from her again, the astonishing news that this place did indeed exist, and she also told me that they had chosen a young king of great promise. I decided almost at once that this was where I belonged as well... of course, I could not be sure that this king she spoke of would want me as his courtesan, nor that I would find him worthy. Fortunately, both turned out to be true."

"Why have you never told me of this before?" you ask Valerie.

"Well, you did not ask, for one thing," she says with a smirk. "And, I had been sworn to secrecy about the very existence of those who kept the ancient gods; they had much to fear from the Holy See, after all. It is not that I felt you could not be trusted with this information, my love; I had simply grown accustomed to not speaking of it. By now, Arethousa herself and a few others here in Elyssia are the very last of her people, and they are safe here in your kingdom, so I may speak freely of them."

"Tell me true, Valerie... do you find Arethousa to be entirely trustworthy? Is she honest and forthright about what lies within her heart? Am I wrong to be concerned about the possibility that she has a hidden motive?"

Valerie considers your words for a moment. "Xavier, you know that I have always been honest and forthright with you," she says. "Arethousa is a close friend, and I would not consider her such if I thought ill of her. But the fact that she is close to my heart means that I may be seeing her as better than she is, and you should know that. I would similarly find it difficult to speak of your faults, because of my feelings for you.

"That having been said," she continues, "I have never once known Arethousa to lie - especially not about matters of love. She would consider it a blasphemy, very nearly the worst of all sins. Whatever she has told you, you may safely accept it as the truth. But I will also say this: she is a woman who keeps her secrets buried as deeply as the center of the Earth, and there may be much that she remains silent upon. As to whether she has other reasons why she would want you, I have to say, what woman would not? You are certainly an appealing man on your own account, dear Xavier; but you must also realize that she who marries you also marries the King of Elyssia, and that is something that any woman will be thinking about!"

"Yes, that is true," you say ruefully.

"Xavier, I have known many kings and lords," Valerie says, stroking your cheek. "Those who are unmarried will always have women who seek their hand. But there is a difference in the sort of woman who looks to marry into nobility for the sake of the title and power, and the sort who is drawn to the man beneath the crown. I believe that if Arethousa wanted only to be Queen and cared not for you, she would have approached you long ago. Instead, she waited to see what kind of man you are, and though it took her longer than I would have thought, she has clearly found you worthy."

"There is that."

Valerie is silent for a moment, and then she looks at you with a smile you know well. "Making love to her is quite an amazing experience, isn't it?" she says.

"On that, we can definitely agree."

"Well, if you happen to bring her into this bed sometime, remember: you can summon me with a single chime!"